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@fuckthis (text)

hey
so me and wash and gene were gonna go on an adventure in the woods
see what we can find, you know?
but we're looking for a couple of people to bring with us
maybe two or three
gene's a medic, wash is a marine, and i'm a wizard with experience dealing with monsters and nasty magic
anyone that thinks they could round that out would be great
but no serial killers or anyone that would like
murder us in our sleep
and sorry, but no kids yet
i know some of you are gonna argue that, but we have no idea what we're dealing with and we don't want that on our consciences
anyway, let us know
thanks

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Fine, but only if you let us clean up afterwards.

I can agree to those terms. Sometime this week?

Let me ask them first and I'll let you know. It's not every day we get invited over for a home cooked meal.

I'll make sure Vanitas is on his best behavior.

[ a surprised bubble of laughter, quickly aborted. ]

No need for that. I think it would only rile him up, don't you?

He gets antsy when he doesn't have something to fight. Then he's twice as annoying.

He's like a small dog, you have to tire him out sometimes.

If you think it is wise — you have known him longer.

[ a beat. ]

For what it's worth, I am hoping he will be tired and have much to think about after I speak with him. Perhaps for a little while.

I just met him a week ago, actually.

[ hard to believe how much has happened since then. ]

But, [ and here's the funny thing: ] I used to be like him. I remember what it's like.

[ that— draws her up short. ]

Exactly... like him?

Not exactly.

You know his darkness, [ she has to, if she's connected to vanitas. ] I got that, too.

But I guess the difference is, he's real. I'm just a fake that won't stay dead.

[ she's quiet for a moment. not even the characteristic rustle of her fingertips interrupts the silence. then, calmly: ]

I do not believe you are a fake. And I have a nose for these things.

You don't have to believe it.

[ because it's the truth: if she passes the boathouse, if she ever wanders near the bonfire — if they come over for dinner, she'll see him. she'll see riku and she will know, just like everyone else in town.

you could be something more than just a copy, axel had told him once. but in the end, he was still hollow, empty. nothing. better to give that husk of a body to someone else instead; the world doesn't need two rikus.

you give a weapon trajectory, not autonomy. maybe one out of two isn't so bad. ]

I can't change what I am.

[ she could be talking to a reflection of herself, at so many different points in her life, wayward and isolated, fearful of herself and doubtful of what possible worth she could have or good she could do after so many wrongs.

but then had come clint. and steve. the rest of her patchwork, precious family. ]

Who says you need to change anything? I like who I'm talking to, right now.

You haven't even met me in person yet.

[ he sounds uncertain, doubtful. it's the first time anyone's ever told him something like it — the idea that anyone would enjoy his company, would enjoy just speaking to him as he is now and not just a byproduct of riku, is a foreign concept.

repetition is key to conditioning. old habits have always been hard to break. ]

I will soon, won't I? Unless you have changed your mind already. Fickleness, too, is a real, mortal impulse.

[ there's no reprimand in her tone, but rather — indulgence, curiosity, further exploration. she meant it when she said she liked him. she never says a word she doesn't mean. ]

Even if you have, you cannot convince me that the concern you showed for your friend Sora, unprompted by him and without his witness, was any kind of counterfeit.

[ wanda pauses again, reflective. after a moment, fondly, softly, ]

Dawn is such a beautiful name. Leaving everything from yesterday in the past, starting something new, and pure, strong. Full of possibilities.

I hope to see you and your friends at my room this Friday, Dawn. Six o'clock. Goodnight.

[ her feed clicks out. ]

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